Mayor Eric Adams has been called to Washington DC later this month to testify before a congressional committee about the Big Apple’s sanctuary city policies.
Adams was sent a letter by the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Monday after Chairman James Comer (R. Ky) announced an investigation into sanctuary cities’ “impact on public safety and federal immigration enforcement.”
The missive was also sent to Boston Mayor Michelle Wu, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, and Denver Mayor Mike Johnson, with their presence being requested before the committee on the morning of February 11.
“Sanctuary jurisdictions and their misguided and obstructionist policies hinder the ability of federal law enforcement officers to effectuate safe arrests and remove dangerous criminals from American communities, making Americans less safe,” Comer charged in the letter.
“Boston, Chicago, Denver, and New York City are sanctuary jurisdictions that refuse to fully cooperate with federal immigration enforcement,” the committee added.
Comer also requested communications and documents related to each of the cities’ sanctuary policies.
The Adams administration said it would review the committee’s request.
“Mayor Adams has made clear that New York City is committed to working with our federal partners to fix our broken immigration system and focus on the small number of people who are entering our localities and committing violent crimes,” a City Hall spokesperson said in a statement.
“We will review the letter and respond accordingly.”
The letter comes as President Trump’s crackdown on illegal immigration began to unfold across the country, with ICE agents raiding sanctuary cities and routing out alleged criminals deportation.
The US Department of Homeland Security said it made 7,300 arrests in the first week of the operation. On Monday alone, 1,179 arrests were made across the country, according to the DHS.
US Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids began New York City Tuesday morning.
Though the Big Apple is a sanctuary city — meaning its official policy is to limit cooperation with federal immigration enforcement — Adams has said he believes migrant criminals should be deported.
He met with Trump’s “border czar” Tom Homan in December, and said the city would “coordinate” with ICE as it started raids in the Big Apple.
Adams’ tenure has been fraught with tension over the federal government’s handling of migrant crisis.
During the end of the Biden administration, Adams vocally complained about the federal government’s lack of financial support that left sanctuary cities footing enormous bills while migrants were allowed to stream across the border.
